In the conversation for Sunday, April 15, 2018, Pastor Stuart Nice shares with us that even though we wander from time to time, God loves us and is always with us, extending his grace so that we find our home in him.

Sacred Reading 00:00-19:07, Conversation 19:07-48:02

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions —it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.Ephesians 2:4-9 (NIV)

Sacred Reading

A note about the recording of the Sacred Reading:The reader will pause between each of the four readings. The pauses have been left in the recording so that the listener can experience the rhythm of the gathering and even participate in the reading. Below are the guidelines for each of the four readings of the practice.

Read: Read the passage and receive it as God’s message to you.

Reflect: Read the passage again and look for the word or phrase that the Holy Spirit highlights to your heart.

Respond: Take the highlighted words and make them a prayer.

Rest: Rest your heart on God’s promises.

So God set another day when he says through David, “today”, just as he had said before. ‘Today, if you shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts’.For if Joshua had given them the rest, we should not find God saying, at a much later date, “today”. There still exists, therefore, a full and complete rest for the people of God. And he who experiences his rest is resting from his own work as fully as God from his.Let us then be eager to know this rest for ourselves, and let us beware that no one misses it through falling into the same kind of unbelief as those we have mentioned.Hebrews 4:7-11 (PHILLIPS)